All Saints Day

Feast Day: November 1

This feast day grew out of the love and devotion of God's people. The Church chose this feast to honor God in His saints, in whom He has shown Himself so wonderful. We thank God as the creator of all holiness and for the graces He has showered upon them.

The communion of saints is made up of all true children of God. They may belong to:

the militant Church on earth

the suffering Church in purgatory or

the triumphant Church in heaven

Some saints needed to pass through purgatory to be purified before they were fit for the Lord's presence. They stayed there until they were ready to see God. They are with him now forever.

A few saints have their own feast day but as there are not enough days in the year we cannot celebrate a special day for each of the saints.

Some stayed close to God all their lives. Others found Him along the way. Some led good lives without too much difficulty. Others made big mistakes, but were truly sorry for their sins and drew close to God.

They made it! We celebrate their journey that led to eternal happiness with God. We celebrate our own family members, relatives, neighbors and friends whom we believe are in heaven.

Today we can rejoice in our hearts with all the saints in heaven. We can make up our own prayer to them, thanking them for the witness of their lives.

We can thank them too, for helping us overcome our difficulties and temptations. We ask them to help us on our own journey through life so we can be saints like them and go to heaven.